Freewill
by starfkr
Summary: What if Darken Rahl had a good side? What if he had a meaningful relationship? Darken Rahl meets a beautiful woman who will be his greatest joy, and the key to his defeat. What if this woman was in love with him, but had to defeat him? What if she was helping Richard Rahl?


****The story revolves around the book world. I just had an idea and figured I might try it out! R&R!**

**Cigarettes in the Theatre**

Darken's POV

I couldn't take my eyes off her, that beautiful woman in the corner with a rolled cigarette in her mouth, her long, blonde and brown hair highlighting her perfect curves as it fell to her waist. The 50 shades of blue in her elegant dress drew my sight to her eyes; all the colors in the dress lay in the vortex of her iris. Her full lips smiled as she laughed at the story Lady and Lord Madonna were telling. I had never seen her before, and she was with a popular and highly esteemed group of nobles. New Lady's and Lord's are not simply invited into such a group. I was lost in-

"Lord Rahl?" Veronica cut off my thoughts, and paused in the middle of her dull story, "Are you listening?" She went on as I nodded.

I had found Veronica that night out side the theatre hall. She was clearly not D'Haran by the look of her curly locks of brown hair and plain brown eyes. She was a slender girl, with a low cut dress, not unusual for one her age at the court. She was obviously a daughter of a noble or an ambassador, not that it mattered to me, the ruler of D'Hara, Lord Darken Rahl himself. She obviously had many egger suitors, not that that would be the case when I was done with her.

I smiled. I only wanted one thing.

But that one thing escaped my mind as I continued to watch that strange woman on the other side of the room. Everything about her was… special, different, intriguing.

I then realized Veronica was touching me. "Oh Lord Rahl, I admire you so much." She pressed herself against me and smiled coyly up at me. I was discussed by her unoriginality.

"I suggest you do so from afar from now on."

I pushed her off of me and walked away, straight toward that corner.

Alandria's POV

I was laughing at the story Lady and Lord Madonna were telling. I couldn't believe all of these important D'Haran diplomats welcomed me so warmly. At first I was so nervous to be here for the first time. Or in a place with this many people in it, in this room alone there were more people then I had known in my entire life.

But I soon found I was very good at this socializing thing. People liked me, and I could read everyone like a book, people are easy to peg. Of course not everyone was like me, my gift being so rare. I had never met anyone like me, and most people didn't know one with my ability actually existed. Even the most skilled of wizards wouldn't be able to see my powers. Not even Lord Rahl.

I had been warned about his powers. Subtractive magic? I shuttered at how such a thing could come to exist unnaturally. Many I had met feared his powers, but the high ranking Lords and Ladies with enough money were more at ease around him. Though I was cautious of the power he possessed as a wizard of that standing, I did not fear him.

"Alandria," Lady Pandora Ambrose, who had seemingly appointed herself my new best friend, whispered to me. "Lord Rahl, he's looking at you."

Her blue, D'Haran eyes gleamed as she awaited a response. "No," I said with a girlish tone taking control of my voice, "not me. Probably Lady Madonna or someone."

Pandora fiddled with her shoulder length, brown hair as she giggled, "No it's defiantly you. I mean look at you, you're gorgeous, and something about you is new and dangerous. You have defiantly sparked his interest." I studied her a moment, she was about my age, young and more modest than the other girls our age here, and all the more interesting. Her pink dress was clinging to her perfect, tall hourglass figure; she was at least 5 inches taller than me. I could defiantly tell she was shy, but knew that we had both taken an instant liking to one another.

And then I turned my attention to Lord Rahl. The sight of him made my knees go weak, even knowing all the things he had done, I couldn't help myself. His blonde hair, his deep blue eyes, his muscles, everything about him was so irresistible. I shuttered, I would not become his prey. I could see he was not using touching his Han, and wondered who had taught him. Knowing Panis Rahl had died when his son was young.

"But girls who get mixed up with Lord Rahl" I made a face. "You know what I mean, they end up in deep shit."

"Trust me, no one could just fuck and dump you, Lady Alandria Manson."

I laughed, "Lord Rahl could."

"Where did you say you were from, Lady Manson?" I began to answer the old, partially blind, Lady Quinn when Pandora's words sealed my fate.

"Lord Rahl's walking over here!"

Darken's POV

I was pushing through the crowd. I _had_ to get to her. I wanted to know her name. I wanted to hear her voice. I wanted to hear her laugh. I wanted to hear her say my name.

I joined the circle a few people away from her, "Hello everyone."

A chorus of greetings erupted from the dozen or so people surrounding me. I maneuvered around paying my compliments to everyone, saving her and Lady Ambrose for last. I watched her the entire time and she averted her eyes. "Oh Lady and Lord Madonna how kind of you to come to the theatre tonight. How are you?"

"Very well Lord, Rahl," the jolly middle aged Lord Madonna boomed, "thank you." His younger wife stepped in as I kissed her hand, "Have you met Lady Manson? She's simply a delight, I cannot get enough of her." The rest on the circle laughed and agreed.

"I don't believe we've met," I said stepping in front of her; I took her all in, noting the full beauty of her figure.

There was an immediate change in her presence as she smiled at me, "Which is surprising, considering my age and this dress."

Everyone around us chuckled. Did she just insult me? Should I punish this obvious disrespect of my power and authority? When I saw that smile on her face all the anger inside of me evaporated. There was an immediate change in me. I heard myself laugh too.

I reached out to kiss her hand, witty or not I intended to win her over with charm or my own, "May I?"

"I'd rather you didn't, Creation knows where those lips have been." She elegantly put her hands behind her back as everyone began to laugh even harder.

"Well it seems Lady Madonna didn't do you justice with her words."

"My apologies Lord Rahl," she giggled as her tight, floral dress stretched on her "I should have warned you about this one, she's fearless."

I turned my gaze back to Lady Manson. _Lady Manson. _I knew her name, or part of it at least. I needed to know her first name. "May I buy you a drink, Lady Manson?"

She extended her hand to me, to my surprise, and smiled saying, "So long as someone else serves it."

Alandria's POV

Lord Rahl's warm hand took mine as he led me to the bar on the other side of the room by the band and the small dance floor marked by wooden boards, and pass the stage doors. The grand golden carpets matched the deep red curtains with golden tassels decorating the walls and the ceiling. The bar was made of fine cherry wood bottles of liquor pilled up on the counter behind it, the wall marked with a mirror and the Rahl family crest.

"Two glasses of St. Mary's red wine, for us," Lord Rahl said to the bar tender.

"I don't think so," I said pushing him out of the way to get a word with the bar tender, "six shots of tequila for us," I looked directly at Lord Rahl when I spoke, "_please_."

A look of shock and partly excitement filled his face, "Why did you just do that?"

"We are not going to sit here and sip red wine until the show starts, you are not going to put your hand on the small of my back and watch my face light up as you bring me to your private box, and you're not going to shower me with petty compliments about my intelligence. No. I'm going to enjoy myself, feel free to join me," I said taking the first shot in front me.

His studied me for a few minutes then picked up a shot, raised it and said, "Here's to you." He shook himself a little after the third shot and looked my way again, we launched into a conversation of all sorts, we talked about everything. Everything but each other. And I couldn't help but love it. I adored it, in fact, I adored talking to this monster. I felt a little guilty. But suddenly the act was gone, and I was talking to a real person. I was talking to Darken, not Lord Rahl.

"What is your first name Ms. Manson?" He asked dragging out the n in my name and I couldn't help but find it sexy.

"Alandria."

"Alandria," my name rolled of his tongue like silk, "Alandria, Alandria, Alandria." He said it over and over again. "So, Alandria, where are you from?"

"Excuse me," I said being dramatic about it, "if you get to call me Alandria, I get to call you Darken."

He barked a laugh, "You do not!"

"Is there anyone who actually calls you Darken?"

"No I guess there isn't," he said shrugging.

"Don't you miss hearing the sound of your own name," he shook his head, "Darken?" I blinked my eyes rapidly, "Please, Darken?"

He sighed inwardly, "I know I'm going to regret this," he flashed a smile my way again, "ok Alandria you can all me Darken."

The clock on the wall struck 8:00 and people began to pile into the theatre and out of the foyer, we took no notice until Pandora, her parents, Lady and Lord Ambrose, and Lady and Lord Madonna came over to us.

"Lord Rahl," Lady Madonna beamed at us, "you'll be late for the show."

Darken laughed as I sipped my water through a straw, "I am sitting with the show."

I dramatically pretended to be offended, "Darken!"

The ten pairs of eyes watching us widened at that one word, the expected all hell to break out, this new, strange woman calling Lord Rahl "Darken" after just one night when most of them had lived there their entire lives and would not dare do such a thing. They could only dream of would horrible punishment would befall upon me before their very eyes.

He laughed, "Go on without us." They relaxed a little and Pandora winked at me as she followed them through the doors.

The band still played, since Lord Rahl hadn't gone inside, and we had gotten quiet. I smiled at him and found myself blushing and looking down at the floor. "Tell me your favorite things." I said meeting his inedible gaze again.

He leaned against the bar, "What?"

"Tell me your favorite things," I smiled. "Like the taste of water, the melody of a slow song, laying in the leaves in autumn, the feel of silk on my skin, colors, yellow roses, the smell of the ocean, and playing piano."

He reached for my hand, and I kept my eyes on his, "Magic, sapphire stones, canopies, a warn bed on a cold winter's night, the smell of a campfire, the feel of warm water, olive trees, and" he squeezed my hand, "the sound of your voice."

Darken's POV

I felt her pulse pick up through her hand as I moved closer to her. "Alandria," I whispered in her ear. I parted my lips and moved in-

"Let's go for a walk," she said. I took a step back to look at her. _What the fuck!_

"Um, ok," I let go of her hand and moved toward the door, she silently stopped me and took my hand again and smiled. I led her to the door and opened it for her, not because I wanted to fuck her, simply because I wanted to. We walked hand in hand passed the servants and soldiers and Lords and Ladies. They all looked shocked, I ignored it.

"Here we are," I said, "the garden of life." I watched her stroll on, pulling me forward with her. I offered her a cigarette and she accepted. I kept her glaze as I lit hers and my own. "Please keep talking," I said sitting down on a stone bench with her.

She laughed, "About what?"

I got very serious, "About anything, about you, about me. About us?"

"Is that what this has all been about?" She suddenly looked very pale and she shivered. I took off my jacket and put it around her.

"No. I mean at first it was but now I… You're so…" She looked pissed at me, I struggled to think of words that could accurately describe her. I didn't just want to put myself between her legs. "Alandria." I stroked her smooth hair. And she moved closer so there were only a few inches between our faces.

"What do you want from me?" She whispered.

I dropped my hand, "I don't know." I took her in for the 20th time that night, everything about her made my blood warm. I did the only thing I could think of. I parted my lips and moved in, toward her, she smelled of sweet honey and fine linen. I pressed my lips on hers for a only a wonderful second before she stood up.

"No," she said, suddenly firm. "I will not be another fluke, not another one of your countless meaningless sexual encounters."

"But…" I spoke helplessly, "you're not."

She sat back down and kissed me on the cheek, "I can't really be sure of that." She said almost with sympathy.

"Would you like me to walk you to your apartments?" I asked, thinking maybe she would see it as polite.

She smiled, "I'd rather you didn't, if you really care about me, come find me."

"I will."

"Only on one condition, Darken," she said moving behind me.

"What?" I asked as Alandria put her hands over my eyes.

She leaned down to whisper in my ear, "I get to keep the coat."

When I opened my eyes she was gone; there was no sign of her.

I left the Garden of Life in shock.

****So just a small chapter to start. Some more M themes will be brought up later ;)**


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